Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 853 You and Zhuoma aren't good friends? Identity Ointment and the Invisible Cauldron Curse!
After leaving the library, Locke quickly read through the recipe for the [Name Potion]. Then, he encountered a wild canine magical creature near his dormitory. This magical creature was a Blue Crystal Silver Hound, characterized by its silver fur, elegant figure, and a blue crystal on its forehead. It was an apprentice-level magical creature.

Logically, he shouldn't be wandering around Golden Crown Mountain; he would be eliminated by the wizard apprentices on missions. But judging from his family-like appearance, it seems that some researchers at Golden Crown Mountain find the Blue Crystal Silver Dog cute and thus occasionally feed him.

The wizard apprentices couldn't figure out what the researcher meant, so they probably didn't dare to touch the stray dog.

Locke stood in front of the blue crystal silver-haired dog, placed his palm on its head, about 1 centimeter away from its forehead, and then a bright blue arcane light appeared in Locke's eyes.

"With my current level of spiritual macroscopic knowledge, I am able to extract the spiritual macroscopic information corresponding to the scientific name 'Blue Crystal Silver-haired Dog' from this dog. This is the most basic application of spiritual macroscopic knowledge, and it also marks the beginning of my understanding of spiritual macroscopic knowledge."

Because of his constant crafting of Zero Potions and his use of the Synthesis Cube to craft Second-Order Potions in advance, his level of psychic awareness is indeed very high.

At that moment, five flames appeared in Locke's palm, and then a silver thread appeared on the dog's forehead. Locke's five primordial flames engulfed the silver thread, and then a small magic circle appeared in Locke's hand. It was a spell model corresponding to a second-ring level name potion, namely the [Invisible Cauldron Spell].

Within this invisible cauldron, constructed from a mixture of magic and spirituality, a potion of name was thus created.

Locke filled a potion bottle the size of a thumb and waved it in front of his eyes.

"Success."

He was breathing slightly out of breath, and within a few breaths, he showed no signs of fatigue on the surface, but in reality, Locke was extremely tired inside.

This is the second use of potionology for Linghong.

The first use is to transform Linghong into a kind of ritualistic action.

The second use is to extract the spirit essence and directly turn it into potion ingredients.

The name Ling Hong is the most likely thing to become a magic potion ingredient among all the hidden true forms of all things, because of the special nature of the name.

But this also caused Locke to rapidly deplete his spiritual knowledge.

On the surface, he appeared to have recovered, but Locke knew that something deep within his soul had been depleted.

Locke looked at the Blue Crystal Silver Fur Dog Name Potion in his hand, and then prepared to take it back to use on his Four-Winged Great Blue Leaf Dragon Sparrow in the future.

Unexpectedly, a voice suddenly appeared behind him.

The wizard Zhuoma asked Locke, "Wizard Augustine, do you also like keeping these magical pets?"

Locke turned around and saw the witch Droma, who had some centaur blood, walking towards him. The blue crystal silver dog seemed to have seen its master, wagging its tail, sticking out its tongue, and then running up to Droma and rubbing against the hem of his robe.

It looks like a lapdog.

The sorceress, Droma, stroked its furry head.

"How pitiful. Because of the river's breach due to the cold weather, it's practically winter now. It's so cold, and you still have to stay outside."

The witch Droma tossed it a tree fruit, and the blue crystal silver-haired dog immediately wagged its tail and lowered its head to eat it.

The witch Droma looked intently at Locke, her gaze lingering on the name potion in Locke's hand for a moment before her pupils suddenly contracted.

"I never imagined that the spiritual science of the wizard Augustine had reached such a level."

The sorceress Zhuoma began to ponder.

'Strange. I'd only heard that this wizard was a breeding genius. But he's already reached the point where he can concoct name-based potions.'

'His magical arts have actually reached a basic level. I'd never heard of him being a genius in potions before. His potion-making skills are almost on par with mine. He only recently became a second-circle wizard, while I was a second-circle potion master three years ago. I have more experience than him; we're both geniuses from the Advanced True Knowledge Academy, so who's really that much worse than the other?'

'How did he elevate his psychic abilities to such a level in just a few short months?'

The witch Droma did some mental calculations.

"He must have successfully concocted at least 15 to 18 second-circle potions; otherwise, it would be impossible for him to have accumulated this level of psychic awareness. Only by successfully concocting second-circle potions could one rapidly increase their psychic awareness. Or perhaps, he is actually a prodigy in potion-making?"

"So, you can achieve this level of skill simply by copying Ling Hong's rubbing?"

'Wait... I remember that to exchange for the Name Potion recipe, it costs at least 1000 contribution points. Oh right, he recently published an article in Zone 1. He has those contribution points.'

The thought of the Second Ring Road, Zone 1 made the witch Zhuoma's feelings even more complicated. She looked at Locke with a complicated expression, and there was even a hint of guilt in her eyes.

The wizard Zhuoma continued to ask Locke, "Wizard Augustine, do you also enjoy taking care of these stray creatures?"

Locke smiled and said, "Not really. I didn't know this stray creature was fed by you. So when I saw it appear beside me, I used it to try making a Name Potion."

I hope I haven't offended you.

The sorceress Zhuoma threw her head back and burst into laughter.

"This dog is just a wild dog, it's not mine. It's an honor for it that you're using it to make a name potion."

The witch Droma's eyes were burning as she thought of the upcoming witch's night party.

“Wizard Augustine, with next year drawing ever closer, we at the Institute of True Knowledge wish to hold a wizarding evening gathering to exchange ideas with each other.”

"This will increase our chances of getting a grant from the institute next year."

Locke looked at the wizard Zhuoma in surprise and said, "I remember that only one person's book can be submitted each year and has the opportunity to apply for a special grant, right? The White Wizard Association only gives a total of seven slots to Yunze Wetland each year."

"Each of the seven top universities has one application slot, which is submitted once a year. In addition, some Zhenzhi Institutes in the other three of the ten regions also submit their applications once a year."

"In addition, other wizarding universities of all sizes in Yunze Wetlands, and even branch campuses established by the Rootcrown Court in the Raize Lowlands, will also apply. Therefore, even in Golden Crown Mountain, there are institutions that help us submit our application forms, but they cannot get approved."

"We were competitors before, weren't we?"

Wizard Zhuoma smiled and said, "We are competitors, but we are also from the same academy. Only through communication can we make progress together. That's why we organize mutual aid societies and wizard night meetings to help each other."

“Wizard Augustine, you’re new here, so you don’t know. This is the tradition of Golden Crown Mountain. We help each other. Besides, even if someone fails in the competition within the academy this year, they can still hone their skills by joining this mutual aid society and the Wizarding Night.”

"Wouldn't that increase his chances of getting approved next year?"

"Therefore, this is a highly profitable business."

Locke nodded, thought about it carefully, and said, "That is indeed the case."

The witch Droma's eyes brightened slightly.

"To be honest, I want to invite you to join our mutual aid society, to our small group, and to participate in the Wizarding Night. I think you'll get a lot of help from that."

“Zeno the wizard in our mutual aid society almost got his application for the top grant approved during the internal review last year. This time, he is even more prepared, and he is the most likely person to get his application approved this year.”

"Besides that, it's just me and brandy."

The sorceress Zhuoma said, "If everyone trusts us, we will even share our own drafts and make revisions to each other. This will increase the chances of getting the grant approved."

"However, we should stay away from the Brandy Wizard. That man is no good. I think Wizard Locke has probably already realized that."

Locke nodded slightly.

"This mutual aid society and wizarding night sound good. But I think I'll pass."

The smile on Droma's face vanished.

His expression changed slightly.

"Since this is so beneficial, why not participate?"

Locke shook his head slightly, because it really didn't appeal to him.

All I have are projects and ideas; I just need to quietly work on them.

Based on my current judgment, I believe that joining their mutual aid association and getting involved in this mess is a mistake.

There is no need for it.

The wizard Zhuoma was a little anxious and said to Locke, "There are many benefits to joining our mutual aid society. When we lack ideas, we can find people to exchange and discuss with during the wizards' night meetings. Maybe we can get some ideas."

Locke shook his head slightly.

"Thank you for your kindness. I appreciate it, but I'll pass. Droma the Wizard."

“I’ve been very busy lately. I don’t have time to attend this support group, nor do I need anyone’s help to gain any inspiration. Droma, I’m busy, I have to go now. Oh, and thank you for your stray dog.”

The sorceress Zhuoma only had time to shout to Locke, "Remember to be careful with brandy. I won't say anything else, just never trust brandy."

As the wizard Zhuoma watched Locke's departing figure, he shook his head slightly.

"Another Zeno."

"Just like Zeno, they're not sociable. Zeno, Locke Augustine, Antoine... these people are all difficult to get along with."

The wizard Zhuoma sighed; it seemed he wouldn't be able to invite Locke to the wizard's party.

"There's no other way, I can only go back like this. I wonder how the other people's research is progressing."

Zhuoma the sorceress was somewhat anxious. She worried that others had already written their manuscripts, while she was the only one who hadn't written a single word.

He can't exactly go around asking everyone how your progress is.

Therefore, the witch Droma was anxious at this moment and wished she could go back immediately and start working.

He crouched down and wrapped a towel around the neck of the blue crystal silver dog.

"Doggy, you'll have to work a little harder during this time. I'm busy lately and might not be able to take good care of you. But don't worry."

"If you wear this towel, no one will dare to hunt you down again."

"The skin of the Blue Crystal Silverhound can be made into a wizard's robe, its blood can be used in medicine, and the crystal on its forehead is a natural treasure that can enhance the spiritual power of wizard apprentices."

The sorceress Zhuoma snorted coldly.

“If I don’t put this scarf embroidered with my name on you, some reckless wizard apprentices might try to harm you.” The dog shook its body, turned its head, circled around the wizard Droma, and wagged its tail and barked.

Meanwhile, Locke's clone returned to the laboratory and began a new round of busy work.

A month later, Mason Witch had borrowed the Bloodline Regeneration Pool from the Bloodline Wizard Laboratory; it was a pool of blood.

Locke, on the other hand, dripped the dragon blood he had extracted into it, and poured the blood of a magical creature called "Crimson Deer Blood" into the bloodline proliferation pool, using the deer blood to replicate and proliferate a large number of diluted versions of the dragon blood.

Locke then mixed it with the Name Potion, creating a liquid mixture imbued with the blood of a dragon.

Locke poured the liquid onto the magical plant he had grafted onto the Magical Dragon Rose rootstock with the Four-Winged Great Green Leaf Dragon Sparrow, watering it daily to ensure the grafting was complete and to enhance the Magical Dragon Plant Essence within it.

Meanwhile, Locke instructed Mason Witch and Douglas, among other assistants, to continuously activate the growth magic array to help him allow the magical plant to slowly grow.

In this month, Locke burned another five million magic stones.

Locke calculated that he currently only had 662 million magic stones left in his savings.

In addition, my regular monthly income is 600,000.

My original monthly income, which came from Lilith's Hut, the Six Towers, plus the authorization fee for Tyrant Element No. 2, and other fees, was 300,000.

With the sale of six first-ring wizard shoes and one second-ring wizard shoe, as well as the sale of Hydra and Five-Headed Serpent shoes, his monthly income reached 600,000.

Furthermore, with the continuous establishment of the Augustus Wizard Shoe Shop Alliance, this normal income is still expanding and is moving towards the million mark as the Wizard Shoe Shop Alliance succeeds.

As long as your own store alliance can be truly established.

Even so, Locke realized he was short of money.

That's right, after doing scientific research to this point, I'm starting to run out of money again.

Meanwhile, during the three months that Locke was researching flying magical plants, he finally managed to reproduce a portion of the golden magic he had previously seen: Sephiroth's Grip, using archaeological models and the spell models he had previously recorded.

Based on the inspiration from Sephiroth's Grip, Locke already had a design idea for the second set of second-ring wizard shoes.

But now he's short of money to pursue his own ideas.

In the laboratory, Locke pondered how to make money. The four-winged blue-leaf dragon sparrow he had previously developed was not particularly competitive among second-ring flying magical plants. Even if he sold it, he might not be able to guarantee that he would not lose money.

It's not that the magical plant is bad, but that I haven't made a name for myself yet, and my breeding skills are indeed not comparable to those of the older generation of breeders.

Locke said, "Now we need to gather some resources again."

“Research desperately needs resources.”

He took out the Ganoderma lucidum plant, and coincidentally, for some unknown reason, an editor from the border of all things and a moon ring wizard came here by boat and invited him to talk face to face.

Locke keenly sensed that this was an opportunity to make money.

Meanwhile, the results of the Xiaoxi Cup should be released soon.

Jinmianshan should award himself two tourmaline king peaches.

To Locke's surprise, Antoine actually contacted him.

Locke accepted Antoine's invitation to make a voice call.

"Is there something you need, Antoine?"

Locke frowned slightly, because Antoine was currently enjoying the pleasure of having two women in his arms.

Antoine said, “I need your help, Locke. I’m applying for a top-tier grant next year. Didn’t I already prepare for it in my previous life? But I’ve encountered a bit of unexpected trouble. It’s a kind of potion that was quite common in my previous life… but it’s become quite rare on the market now. So I’d like to invite you to concoct this potion.”

Locke looked at Antoine with a puzzled expression. "Doesn't the Fisher family have any second-circle potion masters?"

Antoine said, "Indeed, there isn't one. The last second-circle potion master died fifty years ago. Our family hasn't had one since."

"Moreover, it concerns an important secret of mine, and I also want to find some acquaintances to help me concoct potions. Then I thought of Locke, your potion-making skills are excellent, so I wanted to ask you."

Locke looked at him strangely. "Who told you that my potions skills are very good?"

Antoine's eyes were strange. "Hmm? Aren't you and the witch Droma on good terms? He told others that you were friends. He was also the one who told others that you could already concoct name potions and extract the spiritual essence from other people's names out of thin air."

Locke pursed his lips.

"Antoine, do me a small favor."

Antoine dispersed the people around him, then said, "You speak."

Locke said, "If you have the chance again in the future, please tell others that I don't know the witch Droma."

Antoine smiled and said, "Okay."

"By the way, the closer we get to the internal review date for the special grant application, the more careful we need to be. The number of places in the Advanced Knowledge Academy is limited, and some people have gone to extremes to achieve their goals."

"The incident last year happened just before the internal review of the proposals."

"But who exactly did it is now a matter of much speculation, and nobody knows."

Locke nodded.

Antoine said, "The potion I need you to help me concoct isn't a true second-level potion; it's just a variant of a name potion."

"Since you know how to properly concoct name potions, you must know this one. It's just a bit troublesome, and for some reason, it's not only not popular now, but you can't buy it in potion shops anymore, and there are even fewer potion masters who know this potion recipe."

"This is a potion recipe."

Locke glanced at the file he had received, which read "[Identity Paste]".

Locke frowned. He seemed to have heard of this formula before. To be sure he wasn't mistaken, he immediately used the Water Hyacinth System to search for it.

Yes, I have indeed read about the name of the identity plaster. Its other name is "name plaster".

The principle behind this potion is very simple: it uses a name-based potion to extract the spiritual essence from someone else's name and refine it into a potion. So, by making it into a plaster, one can attach someone else's name to their own body, thus impersonating another person at the spiritual essence level.

However, this usage is very narrow.

Because it has absolutely no effect on low-level wizards.

Whether it's a curse or an attack spell, at lower levels, it's rare to lock onto someone using a magic macro, because that level is too high.

Moreover, a wizard using this method cannot impersonate someone else at all, because others can see you as a different person with their naked eyes, or through spiritual or magical means, and so on.

However, magic that truly attacks enemies by targeting someone else's name cannot be solved simply by attaching someone else's name to oneself.

In other words, this potion itself has very few uses.

It's not even as good as a bottle of one-ring potion; the Thousand Faces potion is more useful for concealing one's identity.

Under these circumstances, it's perfectly normal for this kind of potion to be phased out and disappear.

What's more, this potion caused an incident.

Even if it is necessary to attach Ling Hong to someone else's body, there would be no problem even if he drank the Name Potion.

Even the most advanced name potion is unlikely to pose a significant danger because a person can have multiple names, even if it is the same as someone else's.

However, for some reason, a small number of wizards develop identity recognition problems after using the Identity Ointment for an extended period of time.

This peculiar disease is so rare that no one has studied it, and therefore it has remained unsolved.

In short, this made very few wizards want to make identity balm.

The White Wizarding Association has also listed this potion as a prohibited substance.

However, because this potion has a very narrow range of effects and there are many better alternatives, no one is willing to waste their energy trying to overcome its side effects.

Locke glanced at Antoine. Although he didn't know what Antoine intended to do with the Identity Ointment, he was willing to make the deal.

Anyway, I have to refine a second-level magic potion every day to improve my spiritual awareness.

This identity ointment is not particularly difficult to refine.

Locke asked, "How much are you offering?"

Antoine said, “This job itself is not difficult, and I will offer five million magic stones. But considering that I need you to keep it a secret, I will give you six million magic stones.”

"My only request is that you concoct an identity ointment for me."

"At the same time, you must keep it a secret."

"I will provide you with the recipe and ingredients."

Locke nodded slightly. Six million magic stones to have him refine a second-level magic potion was definitely a high premium.

Because the Identity Ointment is not a particularly difficult potion to refine.

However, considering that this is a banned drug of the White Wizard Association, charging this price is still reasonable.

To be honest, although this banned drug is not a particularly harmful agent, it would still be quite troublesome if the ethics review committee came looking for it.

If Antoine hadn't been an old acquaintance, he wouldn't have dared to make this deal with him.

Only close friends would dare to make such a deal.

No wonder he sought out a potion master he knew; that's the reason.

(End of this chapter)